To Hire Or Not To Hire A Dedicated Special Teams Coach
- Thread starter YaketySax
- Start date
1. I can't disagree more with any coach that has 2 DB or 2 LB coaches over special teams coach. I can get the 2 LBer coaches as the outside LBer spots are way different than inside Lber spots. But S and CB....I don't really see a reason to have both coaches over a special teams coach.
2. Special teams is directly involved points on many of the times they take the field. I get XP is like a 90% + success rate....but FG are another matter all together.
3. You can score with special teams (or give them up cheaply).
Under Stoops even when we had McGinnis at kicker and Max at punter...we've always had special teams that existed to not hurt the team...but never as a weapon to help the team. We almost always fair catch punts, never block punts, etc... A missed opportunity to help the program.
2. Special teams is directly involved points on many of the times they take the field. I get XP is like a 90% + success rate....but FG are another matter all together.
3. You can score with special teams (or give them up cheaply).
Under Stoops even when we had McGinnis at kicker and Max at punter...we've always had special teams that existed to not hurt the team...but never as a weapon to help the team. We almost always fair catch punts, never block punts, etc... A missed opportunity to help the program.
It's pure insanity to not have a dedicated ST coach...look where it's gotten us.
We lost to Ole Miss due to ST malpractice.
We lost to Ole Miss due to ST malpractice.
It's always interesting to see what teams do around ST. Here is the list of SEC teams that do not have a dedicated ST coach:
Kentucky
Alabama
Auburn
Texas A&M
Missouri
Vandy
Georgia
Tennessee
Florida
People always point to Dean Hood when they talk about a good ST coach at UK. But Dean had a shared role at UK and had very little ST experience in his past (4 years as a shared responsibility at EKU in the mid 90's).
Something does need to change. Here is what I would do. Get rid of Louis Mistakis. He's been with the team since 2016 working with ST. He needs to go. Put Eddie Gran in his role. Eddie was the ST Coordinator for 14 years from 1995 - 2009 at Ole Miss, Auburn and UT.
Kentucky
Alabama
Auburn
Texas A&M
Missouri
Vandy
Georgia
Tennessee
Florida
People always point to Dean Hood when they talk about a good ST coach at UK. But Dean had a shared role at UK and had very little ST experience in his past (4 years as a shared responsibility at EKU in the mid 90's).
Something does need to change. Here is what I would do. Get rid of Louis Mistakis. He's been with the team since 2016 working with ST. He needs to go. Put Eddie Gran in his role. Eddie was the ST Coordinator for 14 years from 1995 - 2009 at Ole Miss, Auburn and UT.
1. It's because coaching the diverse needs and requirements of safeties, nickels, and corners is hard just like the LB nuances you point out. It's hard to get the most out of practice if you have one assistant for essentially 15 players. UK has had two DB coaches under Stoops since 2013 (Ansley coaching "defensive backs" and Peveto coaching "safeties").
2. Stoops has said previously that most coaching for kickers takes place via remote one-on-one coaching with specialized kicking tutors in the off-season. Few assistants today are qualified to coaching kicking and the ones that can are in high demand.
3. The strongest argument for a dedicated ST coach, that take away an assistant from another position, is coverage and return teams. But most coaches are willing to accept risk there because they play athletic first and second stringers, and return team may have a stud receiving in the back who makes guys miss in open space.
I think this year the problem is the kicker has the yips and the blocking as been atrocious. We've also now played two different long-snappers trying to find someone. Those two may also have the yips for all I know.
To each their own, but I think the bigger reasons we lost to Ole Miss were two consecutive red zone turnovers to end the game. Lost by three points and couldn't manage more than zero points.
For the USCs, Alabamas, and Ohio States of the world it might not make as much a difference to have a special teams coach. Programs like that can just line up on special teams with their multitude of 5 star and high 4 stars waiting in the wings for their turn or who currently play. That makes life a bit easier.
Schools like that can also offer top dollar at every assistant position, so it’s a bit easier to spread the work around I imagine. A program like Kentucky I think benefits more from a ST coach because we don’t have the same resources and talent at every corner of the program.
I think either way, coach or no coach, Kentucky has to perform better on special teams. Admittedly, I don’t know how much a difference a coach would make. I think it would obviously help, but I’m not sure what sacrifices we’d have to make in order to hire a ST coach other than simply pulling that position from elsewhere. I don’t know what the right balance is, but it’s clear our coaches feel that balance means no ST coach.
Schools like that can also offer top dollar at every assistant position, so it’s a bit easier to spread the work around I imagine. A program like Kentucky I think benefits more from a ST coach because we don’t have the same resources and talent at every corner of the program.
I think either way, coach or no coach, Kentucky has to perform better on special teams. Admittedly, I don’t know how much a difference a coach would make. I think it would obviously help, but I’m not sure what sacrifices we’d have to make in order to hire a ST coach other than simply pulling that position from elsewhere. I don’t know what the right balance is, but it’s clear our coaches feel that balance means no ST coach.
Doesn’t matter what other schools are doing. Clearly under stoops this is an issue and needs to be fixed
But yet had Brown been set a tenth of a second longer UK would've had a TD and won the game. Odd that those types of calls don't go against TN even tho they look like a Canadian Football League pre-snap.
Forgot about that and I’m annoyed all over again lol
Ok. Which assistant spot would you, or others who weighed in, open up to make room for the dedicated ST role?
Offer a solution along with complaints.
Yes. Some teams can get by without having good special teams, Tenn being one for example. Their offense puts up plenty of points and they can overcome any ST deficiences.
UK on the other hand is a ball control team that can't afford any miscues on special teams, in fact they could use the help from a really good STs.
UK on the other hand is a ball control team that can't afford any miscues on special teams, in fact they could use the help from a really good STs.
Which assistant position would you eliminate to make room for a dedicated ST coach?
Is a special teams coach h going to kick, punt, snap the ball? I think the focus needs to be on finding talent at that position that can be consistent. We’ve been spoiled here by a couple of kickers, you just knew when they hit the field they were going to make it. It all works together. You have to have solid, if not spectacular special teams play. You can’t have what we’ve had this year. That’s unacceptable. It’s to the point that with 4 games left I would just as soon go for two than attempt the PAT.
Which position coach are you eliminating to make room for ST?
Roger. Now, if one of those positions start sucking we all need to make an agreement we don't complain too much about it since we took manpower from that area and moved it to ST.
I'd be more than willing to gamble the chance that one of those groups might start sucking versus the absolute certainity that our special teams suck.
We just need a god damn long snapper. A ST coach isn’t fixing what’s wrong with the snap issues. It’s like a catcher in baseball when they get the yips. Once it is in their head it is stuck, which causes the holder to get the tips, which in turns causes the kicker to get tips and soon whole world implodes
Find Mark Nelson and hire him immediately. We had the best ST when he was here. If we can’t get him then get Dean Hood back here if he loses his current job. We need a ST coach. Stoops hires have not been great lately.
